CNN says Piers Morgan’s talk show is ending

FILE - In this May 7, 2013, file photo, honoree Piers Morgan poses at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence Los Angeles Gala at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. CNN said Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014, that the prime-time talk show "Piers Morgan Live" is coming to an end and that the show's final airdate has yet to be determined. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

By LYNN ELBER
AP Television Writer

Published: February 23, 2014;Last modified: February 23, 2014 09:09PM

LOS ANGELES — CNN’s prime-time talk show “Piers Morgan Live” is coming to an end, the news channel said Sunday.

Morgan, who succeeded Larry King in the 9 p.m. EST time slot three years ago, was drawing lackluster ratings. In contrast, King had a 25-year run on CNN.

The airdate for Morgan’s last show has yet to be determined, CNN said in a statement.

Morgan is a former U.K. tabloid editor who reinvented himself as a TV personality with stints as a judge on “Britain’s Got Talent” and its U.S. spinoff, NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” and as a contestant on “Celebrity Apprentice.”

Morgan told The New York Times that his show lately has “taken a bath in the ratings” but that he and CNN President Jeff Zucker were discussing a new role for him at the channel. CNN’s audience has tired of hearing a Brit weigh in American cultural issues, Morgan said in a story posted online Sunday.

Morgan served as editor of The Daily Mirror from 1995 to 2004. He has been questioned in connection with Britain’s long-running phone hacking scandal, which has led to numerous arrests, resignations and the closure of Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World tabloid.

Earlier this month, Morgan confirmed that he was interviewed in December by British police investigating the illegal interception of telephone voicemails. Morgan, who said he had given a previous witness statement, has consistently denied wrongdoing.